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An Accidental Lifesaver (cont.)

He took the neurologist's report to his doctor who referred Ken to a thyroid expert (an endocrinologist).

First, the endocrinologist interviewed Ken about his medical history. When Ken discussed his weight gain and lack of energy, he had attributed them to stress stemming from the misery of a divorce. He was surprised to learn that these were actually common symptoms of a thyroid disorder.

"Everything just kind of fell into place," Ken said.

He was prescribed a thyroid hormone replacement called levothyroxine sodium (Synthroid), which is supposed to suppress the nodule's growth and prevent new ones. It also is supposed to normalize the hormones. The trick is finding each individual's balance. Ken started a monthly check-in with the endocrinologist to monitor his hormone levels and adjust his Synthroid as necessary.

"The endocrinologist generally starts people off with small doses and slowly increases," Ken said. He found this especially difficult because whenever the doctor increased his Synthroid dosage, he'd feel great. However, within days his body would adjust to the new levels, and he would slip down again, feeling lethargic.

"So, it was kind of a roller-coaster ride," Ken said.

Soon thereafter, the endocrinologist performed an aspiration biopsy of the nodule.

During a fine-needle aspiration biopsy, an endocrinologist uses an ultrasound to visualize the structures of the neck while using a giant needle to collect samples from the nodule. The samples are then tested in a laboratory to see whether they are cancerous. Unfortunately, the procedure is not highly accurate, Ken said.

The aspiration biopsy revealed that the thyroid nodule was benign. Ken was told to come back for another ultrasound in 6 months.

While his family was relieved at the results and thought all was well, Ken was still concerned. They dismissed Ken's doubts.

"I'm always the one thinking positive, but for whatever reason, my gut feeling was that it wasn't good," Ken said.

Ken's next ultrasound checkup revealed the nodule had grown, which was not a good sign. Even though the statistics were low that it could be cancerous based on his lack of risk factors, such as age and gender, Ken was worried.

Upon knowing that his thyroid nodule grew when it should have shrunk, Ken discussed surgery as the next option with his doctor. Surgery was the only 100% way to verify if the nodule was cancerous. After mutual agreement, the doctor arranged a surgical procedure to remove a portion of the thyroid (partial thyroidectomy).